Contest Time!

His tribe calls him Silent One. He hasn’t spoken since his uncle died fighting the Iroquois. But in the winter of 1609, a new language echoes through the north woods. Samuel de Champlain and his Frenchmen speak of friendship and promise to help the Innu people fight their enemies. This time, Silent One must join the war party, journey far from home, and find his voice to save his brother and his own spirit.

"Kate Messner’s sense of American history and human nature is as strong as her clear, evocative prose. Her multicultural cast of characters truly comes alive in this wonderful little novel that gives one of the best pictures I’ve yet seen of that period of early contact." –Joseph Bruchac, Storyteller and Writer

My main character, Silent One, is silent for a reason; he had a vision and gave a warning that was ignored, resulting in his uncle’s death. He felt like his voice didn’t matter. Why use it?

But it does matter. For all of us.

So here’s how to enter the contest.

Election Day provides us with an opportunity to to speak in a way that matters profoundly. Promise you’ll speak by voting on November 4th. Leave a comment here, saying so, and you’ll be entered in a drawing for a signed copy of Champlain and the Silent One. If you mention this contest on your blog or website and link back here, I’ll enter you twice. Just send me an email (kmessner at katemessner dot com) with the link and let me know.

If you’re not old enough to vote, you can still enter. Talk with a parent or friend who is planning to vote, and make arrangements to go with someone on Election Day to see what it’s like. Leave a comment that tells me you’ll be someone’s voting buddy, and promise to vote when you turn eighteen. And then do it. (I’ll do everything in my power to track you down and reclaim your prize if you don’t.)

Now the small print stuff…

Due to shipping costs, you must live in the Continental United States to win. If you’re not registered on Live Journal, please remember to leave your name (if you’re under 18, please leave a first name only to protect your privacy) so that you can be entered in the drawing. It’s hard to mail books to Anonymous.

The deadline to enter the contest is this Friday, September 26th at midnight EST — right after the Presidential candidates’ first debate. I’ll announce the winner on my blog on Monday, September 29th.